The beauty and warmth of Katija´s voice as well as her exquisite musicality and strong stage presence has taken her to many of the world´s leading opera houses such as Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Salzburger Festspiele, Le Grand Théâtre de Genève, Théâtre de la Monnaie and Opéra National de Paris.
She has sung with conductors such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Thomas Hengelbrock, Daniel Barenboim, Kent Nagano, William Christie, Michael Tilson Thomas, Manfred Honeck. Louis Langrée, Leif Segerstam, Antonio Pappano, Christophe Rousset, Andris Nelsons and Daniel Harding to mention a few.
As a much sought after concert soloist she has performed with many orchestras around the world such as Orchestre de Paris, Elbphilharmonie, Münchner Philharmoniker, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Les Arts Florissants, Les Talens Lyrique, Concentus Musicus, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Stockholm Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Through the singing and the tale’s separate stations, Dragojevic gave life to a dramatic story line from idyll to paralysing sorrow, to (heartless?) revenge to proud maturity. The essence is how the singer made every single fate fully present. She had the capacity to create a vivid focus on every song ́s distinctiveness – phrasing, timbre and action served the content and made it glow all the way through (the concert).
–Mattias Gejrot, Ystad Allehanda
Katija has also had the great honour to be singing at the Nobel Prize Award Banquet (TV Broadcast) as well as at Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden´s birthday celebrations and most recently at the 250 year celebration of The Royal Swedish Academy of Music, 2021 (TV broadcast).
Katija begun the year of 2023 with a huge success singing at the annual festive Epiphany Concerts with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra at Berwaldhallen, live broadcast for Swedish Radio and Television. In 2022 she sung the alto part in Beethoven Symphony no IX with the same orchestra as well as with Münchner Philharmoniker and with Norrköping Symphony Orchestra. The autumn also included her debut with Copenhagen Phil in Mozart Requiem and The Messiah with Orfeus Barock at Stockholm Concert House. In spring 2024 Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with maestro Herbert Blomstedt awaits with The Swedish Radio Orchestra and The Swedish Radio Choir.
During 2021 Katija portrayed several Mozart roles (Idamante, Cherubino, Dorabella) in the film “Mozart opera at Drottningholm” filmed at Drottningholm Court Theatre with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, for Swedish Television.
Katija Dragojevic, in the attractive trouser role Fantasio, has all threads in her hands and holds, with her very flexible mezzo-soprano in all registers, this opera together, from comedy and gravity (to) melancholy, ardor and political conviction.
– Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The same year Katija received great reviews singing the demanding main role Eva in the world premiere of Erik Gedeon´s “Animals who hate humans” at Uppsala Stadsteater. A role including operatic singing as well as jazz, samba and chansons.
In the season of 2019 / 2020 she thrilled the press and audience with her charming Zerlina (Don Giovanni) at Norrlandsoperan.
Katija begun the season 2017/ 2018 with singing the title role in Offenbach´s Fantasio at Le Grand Théâtre de Genève to great acclaim from international press. She also sang Dorabella (Così fan tutte) at Semperoper Dresden, the title role in Carmen at Helsinki National Opera as well as La belle Dulcinée in Massenet´s Don Quichotte at Folkoperan, Stockholm.
Fantasio’s personality dominates the stage and Katija Dragojevic excels in portraying this romantic, cheeky and capricious character. From the contemplative (aria) “See, in the misty night” in the first act to the last duet through the couplets of the second act, her qualities are flourishing, a colourful voice, rich in timbre with the same ease in all registers, both sung and spoken.
– Forumopera
Some of Katija´s many other roles have been Dorabella at Teatro alla Scala with maestro Daniel Barenboim (RAI, Medici TV) and at Theater an der Wien with maestro Nikolaus Harnoncourt (DVD) Zerlina at Baden-Baden Festspiele with Thomas Hengelbrock, including a starry cast with Anna Netrebko as Donna Anna (DVD, Mezzo TV) Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro) at Teatro alla Scala, Salzburger Festspiele and many other opera houses, Idamante (Idomeneo) and Sesto (La Clemenza di Tito) at Drottningholm Court Theatre, the title role in Handel´s Serse as well as the title role in Carmen at Stockholm Royal Opera, Siébel in Gounod´s (Faust) at ROH Covent Garden, Lucretia in Britten´s (The Rape of Lucretia) at The Norwegian Opera and Ballet, Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus) at Glyndebourne Festival opera, the title role in (La Cenerentola) at Finnish National Opera, Lychas in Handel´s (Hercules) with Festival d`Aix en Provence on tour with Joyce di Donato as Dejanira. Katija made her debut as Krista in Janacek´s (Makropulos Case) vid Théâtre de la Monnaie.
Her wide concert repertoire includes: Berlioz: Les nuits d´été, Alma Mahler Selected Lieder, Gustav Mahler: Lieder from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Das Lied von der Erde, Lili Boulanger: Psaume 130, J.S. Bach: Weihnachtsoratorium, Matthäus-Passion, Johannes-Passion, Magnificat, b-minor Mass, Mozart: Great Mass in c minor, Requiem; Handel: The Messiah, Dixit Dominus, Haydn: Stabat mater, Nelson Mass, Rossini: Petite Messe Solennelle, Beethoven: Missa solemnis, Symphony No IX and Schumann: Faust-Szenen.
On DVD you can see Katija as Dorabella, Così fan tutte (Theater an der Wien, Harnoncourt, 2014) Zerlina, Don Giovanni (Baden-Baden, Hengelbrock, 2013) a role she also has portrayed in Kasper Holtens motion picture “Juan” a cinematic filmed version of Mozart´s Don Giovanni. (2010).
The composer was very precise about the layout of his voices: here, Katija Dragojevic is a gorgeously warm mezzo.
-The Observer 2016.09.11 N.Kenyon
She has recorded Berlioz “Roméo et Juliette” with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Robin Ticciati (Lynn Records) Haydn’s Missa Sancti Hieronymi and Temete Dominum for BIS and Marie Samuelsson´s Afrodite (Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Blendulf) released 2019 on CD for Daphne/ Naxos.
Many contemporary composers have composed especially for Katija´s voice, such as Sven-David Sandströms opera Föreställningen 2016 (Royal Opera Stockholm) and Requiem 2011 (Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra) as well as Marie Samuelsson´s Afrodite (above).
Katija was educated at the Royal Academy of Music, Stockholm and at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.
Katija Dragojevic is represented by Stellis Polaris Management exclusively in the Nordic countries and in the rest of the world by Hilbert Artists Management.